Campaign profile

Company strategy

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) is Norway’s premier academic institution for technology and the
natural sciences, with equally strong programs in the social sciences, the arts and humanities, medicine, architecture and fine art. The university’s cross-disciplinary research results in innovative breakthroughs and creative solutions with far-reaching social and economic impact. NTNU’s ambitions are therefore huge. Their promise is: The creative university. The goal of the new recruitment campaign is to keep the pressure on, strengthen the university’s position and reach everyone between the ages of 17 and 21 who is thinking about higher education. Nobody in the target group should fail to consider NTNU as somewhere worthm applying to.

Gathering information

Young people between the ages of 17 and 21 are a highly diverse target group with differing interests. The campaign is meant to communicate generally, yet at the same time address the specific target groups it intends to address. Through detailed surveys of new students over the past few years, NTNU has defined seven or eight groups of students, dealt according to qualifications and interests. At the beginning of autumn-term between 4,000 and 5,000 students respond to a survey. This provides a good indication of who they are and gives a starting point for all recruitment work. Around 250 senior secondary schools are visited during the year, so the insight into what is going on in the target group is very good.

Conceptualication

The Admissions and Recruitment O ffice at NTNU was involved in the development of the campaign together with the design agency, from start to finish. The different groups of students provided the starting point for working out the concept, communication and for defining the channels to be used. The tools for reaching the different groups varied, since the clever people NTNU wanted as students are everywhere. An important element in the verbalm design was to use the informal form of address (the Norwegian ’DU’) a lot, and thereby communicate in a direct manner. Values such as diversity and honesty were fundamental in the campaign design, something that would be communicated to all subgroups in the target group of 17 to 21 year olds.

The visual expression stems from NTNU’s professional point of view. It was important that this came across as credible and technically sophisticated. The fundamental concept is the clever people NTNU is looking for, as well as the ideas and creativity that they possess. These people reflect the knowledge and ideas that are developed at NTNU and the various educational disciplines available.

Testing and choice of direction

NTNU is a large organisation with around 20,000 students and employees the equivalent of 4,500 full-time positions. A thorough job was done of engaging management in the concept. Suggestions from the management team, as well as the entire organisation, have influenced the process throughout. Everyone got involved along the way and NTNU is in no doubt that this
was necessary in order to achieve a high-quality design which NTNU’s employees can relate to and use. The seven faculties were invited to discussions. The discussion process was given top priority.

Designspecification

NTNU looked for a design agency that could work with its complexities. They themselves knew what they wanted to communicate and how, but they needed the professional skills a design agency can offer to design a cohesive and general campaign. It was important to communicate NTNU’s distinctiveness and avoid traditional forms of expressions in order to
differentiate more clearly from other universities. Since its competitors use photos, NTNU chose to use illustrations. Illustrations awaken interest and can underpin creativity and make the creative university visual. The solution also had to be flexible so it could be used by the whole organisation, for several target groups and in more than one arena.

Development

The underpinning element in the recruitment campaign, in other words the people, was the result of NTNU’s clear instructions about what they wanted to communicate and the interpretation of this by the design agency and the illustrator. Each element was worked out in close collaboration with the design agency and was carried out using the agency’s communication and illustration skills. The main elements were tested early, as were the frames and amount of text. The look of the illustrations, i.e.
high-tech/exploratory, underpins NTNU’s focus on technology and innovation and became a good visualisation of the creative university.

A toolbox of illustrations and elements was developed for the campaign profile. Each faculty was given its own unique illustration and the 70 programmes of study their own element. In addition to the overriding slogan ”We’re looking for the best minds everywhere”, slogans were also thought up for each study area. The tools in the toolbox took the possibility of extremely flexible use into consideration so that the message could be directed towards different competence areas and recipients. At the same time the campaign always maintained a strong overall image. A profile manual was created to ensure that high quality and a uniform look were utilised at all levels.

Commercialisation

The internal feedback is extremely positive. The organisation likes the campaign and has adopted it at all levels. Also, the number of applicants increased for the most recent enrolment date. The students at NTNU believe that the university differentiates itself through the campaign and they like what they see. Technology students recognise themselves in the communication, as do the humanities students. The different student groups have their own interpretation of the campaign and
identify themselves with it in their own positive way. There is strong competition for students between colleges and universities, but those with the best grades want to study at NTNU!

Company: NTNU – Norges teknisknaturvitenskapelige universitet

Project group company: Prosjektleder NTNU: Camilla Prytz, NTNU

Design: Agendum

Project group design company: Kreativt ansvarlig: Ann Elin Hvidsten, Agendum See Design - Prosjektleder ASD: Marianne Lind, Agendum See Design - Design og illustrasjon: Anna Joëlson, Agendum See Design - Design og illustrasjon: Linda Bergh, Agendum See Design - Illustrasjon: Commando Group/Rune Spaan - Tekstforfatter: Dag Evjent


Award / year: Honours Award for Design Excellence - 2010

Category: Winners